The combination of olaparib and bevacizumab as maintenance therapy for advanced ovarian cancer appears to confer the greatest progression-free survival (PFS) benefit in women without residual macroscopic disease following upfront cytoreductive surgery, according to an analysis of the phase III PAOLA-1* trial.

Influenza vaccination of pregnant women has no negative effect on the foetus, regardless of the trimester in which the shot is given, a study from Japan has found.

The study population comprised 10,330 pregnant women, among whom 3,943 (38 percent) were vaccinated and 6,387 (62 percent) were not. Vaccinated women were older and more commonly had underlying obstetric and gynaecological illnesses. On the other hand, unvaccinated women (control) frequently smoked or drank alcohol during pregnancy and were more likely to have obesity, hypertension, or foetal growth restriction as pregnancy-induced complications.

Researchers followed all women until the end of their pregnancy. They assessed the safety of vaccination in terms of adverse birth outcomes, including miscarriage, stillbirth, preterm birth, low birth weight and malformation.

Moreover, timing of vaccination did not alter the findings. Vaccination during the first or second trimester was not association with adverse birth outcomes, whereas administration of the vaccine during the third trimester even exerted a protective effect on the risk (OR, 0.70, 95 percent CI, 0.51–0.98).

Despite the presence of several limitations, the present data should help allay concerns regarding the effect of influenza vaccination on the foetus, the researchers said.

The combination of olaparib and bevacizumab as maintenance therapy for advanced ovarian cancer appears to confer the greatest progression-free survival (PFS) benefit in women without residual macroscopic disease following upfront cytoreductive surgery, according to an analysis of the phase III PAOLA-1* trial.